One infection, Four Continents & Eight Countries-the psychosocial implications of the Covid-19 pandemic

Thursday, April 15, 2021, from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm (CDT) (3 pm – 4 pm EDT)

Presented by the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID)

Synopsis:

The current pandemic represents a unique opportunity to evaluate the associated psychological impact in various sociocultural groups and contexts, providing important lessons that could be applied in response to future disasters. A Canadian-led collaboration of research in eight countries aims to measure the role communication strategies and media discourse play in shaping psychological and behavioural responses of the populations during the COVID-19 outbreak. With the second wave of the infection being reported in many countries, the study is timely to report and address the psychosocial manifestations people are facing.

Dr. Melissa Généreux, CIHR lead, holds a doctorate in medicine, a master's degree in public health and a specialization in community medicine from the University of Montreal. After having been appointed as Director of Public Health for six years in the Estrie region, she now acts as a medical adviser both at the regional and provincial level in Quebec, presents an overview of the initial psychosocial health trajectory and behavioural response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her presentation will cover the epidemiological psychosocial sequelae of the pandemic across countries, based on reported mental health problems per (DSM-V Diagnostic Statistical Manual-V) and coping strategies adopted by survey respondents.

This webinar on the mental health challenges at the population level and their behavioural response is for public health practitioners, clinicians, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Detailed information on the project can be access here. Registrants are invited to submit questions of interest before the webinar to S.M. Zeeshan Qadar at sheikh.qadar@umanitoba.ca.

Webinar Access:

This event will be hosted on the Zoom platform. In advance of our event, please ensure you download the Zoom App HERE.

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89350137534?pwd=VzkzQ2lJQS9EWW1hSHh1R3BlVVpqdz09

Passcode : 506457

Or listen by Telephone:(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

Canada: +1 204 272 7920 or +1 438 809 7799 or +1 587 328 1099 or +1 647 374 4685 or +1 647 558 0588 or +1 778 907 2071

Webinar ID: 893 5013 7534

Passcode : 506457

International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcmFn61pZe

Troubleshooting

You can test your device compatibility with Zoom meeting software here - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115002262083-Joining-a-test-meeting

If you experience technical issues during the webinar, you can email us at shivoan.balakumar@umanitoba.ca. We will do our best to assist you and ensure that you receive a recording of the webinar afterwards.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Généreux is the CIHR lead, holds a doctorate in medicine, a master's degree in public health and a specialization in community medicine from the University of Montreal. After having been appointed as Director of Public Health for six years in the Estrie region, she now acts as a medical adviser both at the regional and provincial level in Quebec. She has developed an expertise in the field of disaster management and psychosocial recovery through her strong involvement during the Lac-Mégantic rail tragedy in 2013 that destroyed a large part of the downtown area, both as a researcher and as a decision-maker, as well as through her support brought to public health authorities as a consultant during the 2016 Fort McMurray fires in Alberta and the 2017 and 2019 spring floods in Quebec. As a member of the WHO Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Framework Research Network (TPRN), she has developed a strong international network and has contributed to several knowledge creation and transition activities in the field of disaster risk reduction (e.g. WHO expert meeting, workshops, conferences, scientific papers, reports, book chapters). She is currently leading two studies, one on the sociosanitary consequences during and after the 2019 spring floods in Quebec, and another on the psychological and behavioral response to the COVID-19 pandemic.